Reinforced aerosol container

ABSTRACT

An aerosol container having a plastic container body with an annular outer wall reinforced by radial ribs which divide the interior circumferentially into compartments that are open to each other. Preferably, these ribs tie the outer wall to a cylindrical inner wall that is spaced inside the outer wall.

ilnited States Patent Kutik et al.

REINFORCED AEROSOL CONTAINER Inventors: Louis F. Kutik, 8720 SW. 23rd Pl.,

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33314; Raymond R. Swier, 20200 W. Country Club Dr., Townhouse 121, North Miami Beach, Fla. 33163 Filed: Mar. 16, 1973 Appl. No.: 341,895

US. Cl. 220/72, 220/20.5 Int. Cl B6541 7/42 Field of Search 220/20, 9 R, 15, 20.5,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1933 Robinson 220/15 Sept. 24, 1974 3,066,822 12/1962 Watter 220/15 X 3,338,238 8/1967 Warncke 220/20.5 X 3,765,559 10/1973 Sauey et al. 220/15 Primary Examiner-William 1. Price Assistant Examiner-Steven M. Pollard Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Oltman and Flynn [5 7] ABSTRACT An aerosol container having a plastic container body with an annular outer wall reinforced by radial ribs which divide the interior circumferentially into compartments that are open to each other. Preferably, these ribs tie the outer wall to a cylindrical inner wall that is spaced inside the outer wall.

13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PAIENTEU 39241974 3.83.7. 527

I SHEET 2!)? 2 REINFORCED AEROSOL CONTAINER This invention relates to an aerosol container having a reinforced container body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Aerosol containers made with plastic bodies have been limited in the pressure which they can handle safely. Also, to insure against explosions in the event of overheating due to fire or another cause, such containers have been of relatively thick-walled construction which adds to the expense and time involved in their manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an aerosol container having a body which, because of its novel reinforced construction, may be of thinner-walled material for a given pressure rating of the container. This novel reinforced construction of the container body is particularly advantageous where it is made of plastic.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide an aerosol container having a novel and improved reinforced body.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a container having a novel plastic body which may be manufactured more readily and at lower cost than previous thicker-walled plastic aerosol container bodies.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved aerosol container having a reinforced body and a centrally depressed bottom which permits the dip tube to extend centrally of the container for its entire length for the easy removal of the last contents without the need to tip the container.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved compartmentalized aerosol container with internal openings between the compartments for equalizing the liquid level in the different compartments and for venting during filling.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel aerosol container that is readily re-tillable repeatedly.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of certain presently preferred embodiments thereof, which are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of an aerosol container in accordance with a first embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken centrally through this container along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-section taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the interior of this container, taken from the line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of an aerosol container in accordance with a second embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a central vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal section taken along the line 77 in FIG. 5; and

F IG. 8 is a fragmentary vertical setion taken centrally through the upper end of an aerosol container in accordance with a third embodiment of this invention.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is susceptible of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 4, the aerosol container shown there has a generally ogive-shaped plastic body 10 which is closed at the bottom and at the top by respective end closures 11 and 12. A discharge valve having a finger-operated cap 13 is mounted on the top closure 12. The container body 10 tapers only very slightly for about two-thirds or so of its extent up from the bottom closure 12, and from this point upward its taper increases progressively toward the top.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom closure 11 is dished downwardly at the middle so that its lowest point is at the center. At its periphery it presents a flange 14 that is crimped tightly in fluid-sealing fashion around a bead 15 on the lower end of the container body 10 at the outside. Preferably, the bottom closure 11 is of suitable sheet metal.

The top closure 12 also is of sheet metal and is crimped tightly around the outside of the plastic body 10 at the top. This closure carries a dispensing'valve, indicated generally at 16, which preferably is constructed and arranged as disclosed in detail in US. Pat. No. 3,613,964 to E. W. Gronemeyer. It has a flat, annular sealing gasket 17 of rubber-like material that is clamped by the top closure cap 12 against the top surface 10' of the container body 10. Beneath this sealing gasket it has a flexible and resilient member 18 of rubber-like material whose outer periphery sealingly engages the inside of the mouth of the container body 10 at the top. Attached to this membrane 18 at the center is a valve stem 19 whose upper end projects up beyond the top closure 12 on the container and carries the tinger-operated cap 13. Further details of the construction and mode of operation of this valve may be had by reference to the aforementioned US. Pat. No. 3,613,964.

In accordance with the present invention, the container body is circumferentially compartmentalized to enhance its strength and enable a thinner walled construction to be employed, for a given aerosol pressure. This thinner walled construction is highly advantageous in manufacturing, such as by injection molding, because it cools much faster than the conventional, thicker walled plastic bodies for aerosol containers. The compartmentalizing of the container improves its safety, particularly against exploding.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the container body 10 has a circumferentially continuous. annular outer wall 10a and a circumfentially continuous, cylindrical inner wall 10b which is spaced laterally inward from the outer wall and is concentric therewith. The upper end of the cylindrical inner wall 10b is joined integrally to the outer wall 10a a short distance below the top of the container where the outer wall 10a tapers inward appreciably.

The container body has a plurality of circumferentially spaced ribs or divider walls 20 which extend radially between the inner and outer walls 10b and 10a and are integrally joined to both. As best seen in FIG. 2,

each rib 20 extends continuously from the juncture between the outer and inner walls, near the top of the container, down to a location near the bottom 11 of the container. At this location, each rib 20 presents an upwardly and inwardly tapering bottom edge 21 that, except at its outer extremity, is spaced above the bottom closure 11 on the container. Consequently, the successive, circumferentially spaced compartments 22 in the container communicate freely with each other and with the space inside the inner wall b at the bottom, just above the bottom closure 11 and below the bottom edges 21 of the ribs or divider walls 20.

At its upper end the container body 10 has a second cylindrical inner wall 100 (FIG. 2) which is appreciably smaller in diameter and appreciable shorter axially than the first-mentioned inner wall 10b. This second inner wall 10c has its upper end joined integrally to the outer wall 10a, close to the mouth of the container body, and it extends down to a location a short distance below the juncture between the outer wall 10a and the first inner wall 10b of the container body. Preferably, wall 100 is concentric with walls 10a and 10b.-

The container body has a plurality of circumferentially spaced divider walls or ribs 23 which extend radially between the inner walls 10b and 10c and are integrally joined to both. Each of these ribs 23 has its bottom edge 24 tapering downward and laterally outward from the second inner wall 10c to the first wall 10b. The ribs 23 divide the annular space between inner walls 10b and 10c into successive, circumferentially spaced compartments 25 (FIG. 3), all having their lower ends open to the space inside the wall 10b and having their upper ends closed by the inwardly tapering outer wall 10a of the container body.

The two inner walls have respective small vent openings 26 and 27 near their upper ends at each of the compartments 22 or 25 for venting these compartments when the container is being filled in the usual manner and to equalize the liquid height throughout the container.

Preferably, the entire container body 10, including the outer and inner walls 10a, 10b, 10c and the ribs and 23, is formed in one integral piece by injection molding.

A dip tube 28 is attached at its upper end to the lower end of the valve stem 19 and it extends down centrally within the container, terminating in a bottom edge 29 located a short distance directly above the centrally positioned lowpoint of the bottom closure 11 on the container.

With the disclosed construction of the container body 10, its outer wall 10a is structurally reinforced by the radial ribs or divider walls 20, which tie it to the inner wall 10b and enable it to better withstand the internal aerosol pressure that sometimes is so great as to cause a container to explode. The inner wall 101; is subjected to substantially the same pressure of the aerosol propellant on both its outer face and its inner face, so that the net radial force of the propellant acting directly on this wall is substantially zero and it provides a sufficiently rigid anchor for the inner ends of the radial webs 20 to enable a thinner walled container body to be used, for a given pressure rating of the container.

The downwardly dished construction of the bottom closure 11 enables the dip tube 28 to extend straight down at the center of the container, and the last remaining contents may be sprayed out of the container without having to tip it from a vertical position.

FIGS. 5 7 show a second embodiment of this invention which is similar in many respects to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 4. Similar elements in FIGS. 5 7 are given the same reference numerials, plus 100, as those in FIGS. 1 4, and a detailed description of these similar elements is ommited as unnecessarily repetitious.

Referring to FIG. 6, the bottom closure 111 is of a known, conventional design. It includes an annular member 129 with an internally screw-threaded, upstanding flange 130 at the outside which threadedly engages a slightly enlarged, externally screw-threaded, lower end 131 of the outer wall 110a of the container body. The bottom closure member 129 extends laterally inward beneath this lower end 131 of the outer wall 110a and inside the latter it presents an upwardly offset, inwardly protruding, annular, horizontal lip 132. Inside this lip, the bottom closure member 129 has a central opening 133, which is slightly smaller in diameter than the inside diameter of the cylindrical inner wall 11% of the container body.

The bottom closure 111 also includes an inner plate member 134 that is dished upwardly at the middle, as shown at 135, and at this location it carries springclosed ball check valve 136 that can be opened from the outside to permit re-filling of the container. This is quite advantageous because it enables aerosol containers to be re-filled and re-used repeatedly, instead of being discarded after a single use.

Outward from its upwardly-dished central portion the plate member 134 presents an annular, horizontal segment 137 that rests on top of the lip 132, and from this segment 137 it extends down and outward beneath the lower end 131 of the outer wall 110a, as shown at 138 in FIG. 6. An O-ring 139 is sealingly engaged between the plate member 134 and the container body 110 at this location.

The outer wall 110a of the container body is cylindrical for almost its entire extent upward from its screwthreaded lower end 131. Close to its upper end, the outer wall tapers inward at a sharp angle, as shown at 140 in FIG. 6, over to the container mouth 141.

Only a single inner wall 11% is provided on the conatiner body in FIGS. 5 7.

The dip tube 128 in this container is bent so that its lower edge 129 is located close to a low point of the container bottom closure 111, laterally outward from the upwardly-dished center where the re-fill valve 136 is mounted.

FIG. 8 shows the upper end of a still further embodiment, which has a top closure and a valve assembly of known, conventional design which is suitable for a wider-mouthed container body than those of FIGS. 1 7. Corresponding elements of the FIG. 8 container are given the same reference numerals, plus 200, as those in FIGS. 1 4.

In FIG. 8, the container body 210 has a thick-walled, externally screw-threaded upper end 250, which is located directly above its inner wall 210b and is a continuation of the latter at the inside. An annular cap 251 is threaded onto this upper end 250, and it presents a radially. inwardly projecting, horizontal, annular lip 252.

An upstanding ring member 253 inside the cap 251 presents a radially outwardly projecting, horizontal, annular flange 254 that is engaged beneath the lip 252 on the cap. An O-ring 255 of suitable rubber-like material is sealingly engaged between ring member 253 and the top of the container body 210. Ring member 253 is formed with an inside bead 256 at the top.

A sheet metal cap 257 is crimped over the top of the ring member 253, and an annular gasket 258 of rubberlike material is sealingly engaged between them to prevent leakage. The cap 257 has an upwardly-offset central portion 259 which carries a dispensing valve 260 of known design in common use on aerosol containers. This valve is operated by the finger cap 213 in the usual manner to pass the contents of the container coming up through the dip tube 228 under the pressure excerted by the aerosol propellant in the container.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the reinforced container body in the present aerosol container may be embodied in various different structural arrangements and it may be associated with various different types of top and bottom end closures and dispensing valves. If desired, the inner cylindrical wall of the container body may be omitted, in which case the reinforcing ribs for the outer wall preferably would extend diametrically across the interior of the container body and the dip tube would extend down between two neighboring ribs near the intersection at the center of the container. Also, the compartments 122 may be open to each other at some point other than the bottom of the container; for example, at the top thereof.

We claim:

1. In an aerosol container for use with a dip tube extending down into the container and having a valve on its upper end for discharging the fluid contents of the container as an aerosol, said container comprising a molded plastic, hollow container body with a circumferentially continuous outer wall, and laterally extending ribs joined to said outer wall at the inside and reinforcing the outer wall against internal pressure in the container, said ribs being spaced apart circumferentially and dividing the space in the container inside of said outer wall into successive compartments circumferentially, the improvement wherein said ribs at one end of the container body present bottom edges that extend toward the opposite end of the container body in a direction laterally inward from said outer wall to provide openings affording free fluid communication throughout the interior of the container body at said one end thereof.

2. An aerosol container according to claim 1, wherein said one end of the container is the bottom end.

3. An aerosol container according to claim 2, wherein said ribs extend continuously along said outer wall for most of its length.

4. In an aerosol container for use with a dip tube extending down into the container and having a manually operated valve on its upper end for discharging the fluid contents of the container as an aerosol, said container comprising a molded plastic, hollow container body with a circumferentially continuous annular outer wall, a circumferentially continuous annular inner wall spaced inside said outer wall and providing a central chamber for receiving the dip tube, and radially extending ribs rigidly tying said outer wall to said inner wall and dividing the annular space between them circumferentially into neighboring compartments, the improvement wherein said ribs at one end of the container body taper inward from said outer wall in a direction toward the opposite end of the container body to provide large openings between said neighboring compartments and said central chamber for free fluid communication between them at said one end of the container body.

5. An aerosol container according to claim 4, wherein said one end of the container is the bottom end.

6. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said ribs extend continuously along said outer wall for most of its length.

7. An aerosol container according to claim 6, and further comprising a container bottom extending across said outer wall at the bottom and dished downwardly toward the middle to be spaced closely below the lower end of the dip tube when the latter is inserted.

8. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said ribs extend continuously along said inner wall for substantially its entire length.

9. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said inner wall has vent openings therein between the ribs near its upper end.

10. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said outer wall tapers inwardly toward its upper end and is joined directly thereat to the upper end of said inner wall, and further comprising a circumferentially continuous second inner wall having its lower end spaced inside the upper end of said firstmentioned inner wall and having its upper end joined directly to the upper end of said outer wall, and laterally extending ribs extending from said second inner wall laterally outward to said first-mentioned inner wall and to said outer wall above the upper end of said firstmentioned inner wall.

11. An aerosol container according to claim 10, wherein said second inner wall has vent openings therein near its upper end between said last-mentioned ribs.

12. An aerosol container according to claim 11, wherein said first-mentioned inner wall has vent openings therein between the ribs near its upper end.

13. An aerosol container according to claim 12, wherein said first-mentioned ribs extend continuously along said outer wall for most of its length and along said first-mentioned inner wall for substantially its en- 

1. In an aerosol container for use with a dip tube extending down into the container and having a valve on its upper end for Discharging the fluid contents of the container as an aerosol, said container comprising a molded plastic, hollow container body with a circumferentially continuous outer wall, and laterally extending ribs joined to said outer wall at the inside and reinforcing the outer wall against internal pressure in the container, said ribs being spaced apart circumferentially and dividing the space in the container inside of said outer wall into successive compartments circumferentially, the improvement wherein said ribs at one end of the container body present bottom edges that extend toward the opposite end of the container body in a direction laterally inward from said outer wall to provide openings affording free fluid communication throughout the interior of the container body at said one end thereof.
 2. An aerosol container according to claim 1, wherein said one end of the container is the bottom end.
 3. An aerosol container according to claim 2, wherein said ribs extend continuously along said outer wall for most of its length.
 4. In an aerosol container for use with a dip tube extending down into the container and having a manually operated valve on its upper end for discharging the fluid contents of the container as an aerosol, said container comprising a molded plastic, hollow container body with a circumferentially continuous annular outer wall, a circumferentially continuous annular inner wall spaced inside said outer wall and providing a central chamber for receiving the dip tube, and radially extending ribs rigidly tying said outer wall to said inner wall and dividing the annular space between them circumferentially into neighboring compartments, the improvement wherein said ribs at one end of the container body taper inward from said outer wall in a direction toward the opposite end of the container body to provide large openings between said neighboring compartments and said central chamber for free fluid communication between them at said one end of the container body.
 5. An aerosol container according to claim 4, wherein said one end of the container is the bottom end.
 6. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said ribs extend continuously along said outer wall for most of its length.
 7. An aerosol container according to claim 6, and further comprising a container bottom extending across said outer wall at the bottom and dished downwardly toward the middle to be spaced closely below the lower end of the dip tube when the latter is inserted.
 8. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said ribs extend continuously along said inner wall for substantially its entire length.
 9. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said inner wall has vent openings therein between the ribs near its upper end.
 10. An aerosol container according to claim 5, wherein said outer wall tapers inwardly toward its upper end and is joined directly thereat to the upper end of said inner wall, and further comprising a circumferentially continuous second inner wall having its lower end spaced inside the upper end of said first-mentioned inner wall and having its upper end joined directly to the upper end of said outer wall, and laterally extending ribs extending from said second inner wall laterally outward to said first-mentioned inner wall and to said outer wall above the upper end of said first-mentioned inner wall.
 11. An aerosol container according to claim 10, wherein said second inner wall has vent openings therein near its upper end between said last-mentioned ribs.
 12. An aerosol container according to claim 11, wherein said first-mentioned inner wall has vent openings therein between the ribs near its upper end.
 13. An aerosol container according to claim 12, wherein said first-mentioned ribs extend continuously along said outer wall for most of its length and along said first-mentioned inner wall for substantially its entire length. 